Wednesday, 29 October 2008

EVOLUTION RUNNING VIDEOI'm always looking for ways to run faster and I was really impressed after watching the video clips.Video 5 shows you how to run downhill faster with less impact, I tried the technique and WOW! it works.This is pretty exciting stuff, after all at 47 I'm not going to get any faster unless I can improve my running efficiency and economy/ I have now sent off for the DVD to find out more, check out the link above to find out for yourself.

Saturday, 25 October 2008

MY MOST ENJOYABLE RACE THIS YEAR!After working the night shift I got just 3 hours sleep before the alarm woke me, i could here the unwelcome sound of the wind and rain lashing against the window!If I had not arranged for Paul to pick me up I would have rolled over and gone back to sleep for sure!As if by some miracle the rain stopped just in time for the race, only to start again after I finished! This was round 2 of the series,the first one being back in February when I finished 9th.After a week of steady aerobic running I was hoping to feel better than in last weeks 10k.I was wearing the new prototype Healus running shoes,and many people asked me about them [they are designed to reduce shock by having a shock absorbing sprung plate placed midfoot in the shoe] .Among us at the start was super legend RON HILL , so we were in very good company. We headed off along a pot holed lane filled deep with muddy water, with so many runners on the path you had no choice but to splash straight through the flooded pot holes. After half a mile we turned up a steep hill, by which time I was just starting to get into a nice rhythm, up ahead team mate Richard Carey was pulling away from me, but there was little a could do but hold my own pace! Once at the top I took full advantage of the HEALUS shoes and blasted down the steep concrete lane, pulling up behind another runner as we hit the forest, this was awesome fun zigzagging in and out of the trees as we looped round the woods. At one point I almost bailed out as I over cooked it on a muddy corner! Now the climbing started in earnest once more , up through the trees I was feeling good! Next was the hardest part, climbing alongside the edge of a field [ seemed like a paddy field it was so water logged ] i was starting to struggle, but then I remembered to RELAX and I got back into a nice rhythm again.The second lap started as we hit the steep climb again, half way up a guy on a mission came past me,so I tagged onto his back and used him to pull me to the top, as soon as the path leveled out I put the hammer down once more and kept it going on the downhill, taking out a couple of runners on my way. i focused in on a group ahead and slowly but surely I closed in on them, through the forest I could see Richard Carey for the first time since he left me behind on the first climb. I pulled in behind him as we squelched through the paddy field , finally we came out onto the pot holed lane for a final dash back to the finish I passed Richard and put in an almighty effort to catch a group of 4 in front of me! I finished with a big grin on my face, legs plastered in mud!This had been a awesome race, awesome fun, FANTASTIC DAY! and the wet conditions made the race even more fun!I finished in 21st place, but I was happy enough, my aerobic fitness has gone downhill , but a few months base training should fix that!Paul found his first trail race hard going but said he'd be back for more taking into account he was only wearing road shoes he did really well. Racey Tracey peters finished first lady and the girls won the team prize for SOUTHPORT WATERLOO, all in all an excellent result!RESULTS

Tuesday, 21 October 2008

SOUTHPORT 10K"Rick (37.06) just beginning to recover from his grueling sub-3hr Anglesey Marathon".SAID THE REPORT IN MY CLUBS WEBSITE NEWS REPORT!The end of season race told me what i already knew, ie, that i was burned out and in need of a rebuild!i started following Arthur Lydiards training last summer 2007 and my improvement was amazing,in the winter I followed his base training, running up to 10 hours per week, during this time i ran a race every two to three weeks, my races were awesome, each time I felt strong and even ran a p.b. in one race, not bad for someone who has been running for 15 years and thought there best day,s were behind them! I started anaerobic training in Feb and recorded my fastest ever mile interval session in March! i then ran the Blackpool Marathon in April, the race went really well, just losing 10th place when I got sent the wrong way with 200m to go, but i still won my age group and finished 11th.After that i went against Mr lydiards advise and carried on doing intense intervals, BIG MISTAKE! at first I stopped improving then started to have eratic races before burning and crashing out, IF ONLY I HAD LISTENED TO THE MASTER!Anyway i am looking forward to building up my aerobic base again , in November, following ARTHUR LYDIARDS MASTERS PROGRAM FOR THE MARATHON! as long as I stick to the program I know i will have a great London Marathon!Tue 21st Ran down to meet up with the club for a fartlek session I kept my effort aerobic and relaxed and had a good time running with the guys, there was a thunder storm on the way home with some heavy rain, but I was really shocked when i was almost home to see big chunks of hell stones on the pavement, man am glad i missed out on that!= 1.35mon 20th Managed to fit in 10mins on the treadmill as part of my gym instructors course, at least it help loosen my legs off a bit!

Saturday, 18 October 2008

GETTING READY FOR THE LOCAL 10KThursday Friday and Saturdays runs over the sandhills have been on the easy side apart from a few fast stride outs.Danny Dreyer ofChirunning gave me a useful tip on how to run faster without using your leg muscles, after I complained that I didn't have enough speed in shorter races using the chi method.Danny suggested that i try"rotating my pelvis as my legs swing. This allows you to gain valuable inches with each stride. By keeping your cadence at 90 and increasing your stride length you gain speed. Your speed will increase according to your ability to rotate your pelvis and drive with your hips (not your legs). This will engage your core muscles which are much stronger and last longer than your quads". This sounded a bit strange at first but i was surprised how my stride length increased and I seemed to get an added thrust pushing me forward, yes it really seems to work!My oblique muscles now feel a bit sore, but i guess it just shows I've not been using them before. Danny suggests that I could increase my stride length by up to 4 ins, some quick calculations in my head has me thinking that this could save me up to 15 sec per mile, anyway I'll give this pelvis rotation trick a go in the 10k on Sunday although I'm not sure that I will be able to maintain it for the duration of the whole race, but hell its worth a try! MORESat 18th Another easy run with Tess on the Velvet trail with some fast stride outs, max 12.8 mph, felt good! = 33 mins.Fri 17theasy run over the sandhills with some fast strides,=35 mins.Thur 16th easy sandhill run with some fast strides = 37 mins.

Hi MIke, I've tried many different types of training over the years,i can see that from looking at my training logs that the years when i put in a high mileage base are the years i ran best.

After 15 years running and before that 10 years cycle racing I'm happy to say that a high mileage type program works best for me and the times when my running has gone downhill are when i have moved into intense interval training and low mileage.On aging and performance; at 30 i thought I had peaked out and started to lose interest in the sport of cycle racing, at 33 i took up running, at 39 i had a great year but then had 2 indifferent years, I thought I had gone passed my best, but then I increased my mileage and then went on to set new p.b.s over all distances from 5k to marathon at age 42-43.I did not really know about lydiards methods until last year.i started training his way last summer 2007 and went on to have an awesome winter and spring, getting close to my best! but I blew it this summer by over doing the anaerobic stuff! I found Lydiard was right to say you only need 5 weeks of intense intervals.I now intend to follow Lydiards program for masters starting in November as I want to run a great London marathon.

Thanks for your comment Mike , taking into account that you are only just getting back into running you should have many years of improvement ahead of you, enjoy!

Wednesday, 15 October 2008

It was interesting looking back at my performances over the last 12 years in the NATTERJACK SEASIDE 10K, I was surprised how well I have managed to hang on to my speed despite my increasing age! 1995 37.54, 96 38.17, 97 37.39, 98 36.47 99 35.15, 2000 37.47. 2001 35.22, 2006 36.35, 2007 35.57

Tuesday, 14 October 2008

Here I am running in the pouring rain, splashing through inch deep puddles and fighting a nagging wind that breaks my rhythm and soul, I go through the 1/4 in 79 secs, but now I'm into the head wind , trying to stay relaxed and at the same time push close to my limits. the 1/2 mile comes in 2.42, round the corner and I have the wind on my back, accelerating hard out the bend i desperately try to increase my pace up to 12 mph, I glance at the Garmin at 3/4 distance [ 4.07]. I gather myself for the final assault, squeezing every last bit of energy out of my legs, sprinting into the wind all the way to the finish line, 5.29 ! Oh well, not exactly the confidence booster I was looking for, but under the conditions am not sure if it was good or bad!This time last year I was 6 weeks into my ARTHUR LYDIARD base training and feeling really strong, this year I've run two marathons and run a hard summers race campaign which left me tired and burned out, I would dearly love to race well on Sunday in the local 10k, but i think am much in need of rebuilding my base, before I can ever think of running to a good level again!3 x 1 mile, 1st mile steady 6.01, 2nd mile hard 5.29, 3rd mile fast relaxed 5.52 = 45 minsEveningI went to the gym with Niz and after going round all the weight machines i ended up on the treadmill! with the grade set to 2% I got up to an impressive 11 mph, I was thinking this felt remarkably easy when i realized it was in fact set for kph, oops!!

Monday, 13 October 2008

FINAL WEEK COUNTDOWNToday I ran down to Victoria park and completed a mile of sprints, sprinting each straight then jogging easy for 30 seconds before charging into the next straight.13 sprints in a mile,average pace 4.54 ,the strong winds meant that my target of sub 5 min pace proved harder than anticipated. total running time = 40mins

Saturday, 11 October 2008

Today I ran a relaxed tempo run over the sandhill 6 loop, overall I felt smooth and in control of the session finishing an amazing 12 secs faster than last week! But I had a lot more left in my legs this time, I decided to run a second lap at a easy endurance pace. Once I got back on the road for the last 1 .5 miles home I quickly got up to marathon pace and finished feeling like one of those Duracell batteries, I wanted to go on and on!!! Sandhill 6= 36.32 plus easy steady run with last 1.5 miles at M.P.Overall a good weeks training with a nice steady improvement in form, apart from Thursday when I had very tired legs, but i blame this on spending the day walking round Chester zoo with Niz!=1.40Fri 10th RestThur 9th easy = 52 mins

Wednesday, 8 October 2008

After starting training as a gym instructor i was advised to join a gym to get experience of using all the weight training equipment etc, so I did my first session last night. Today i found my legs felt pretty sore after using the leg press machine . Arthur Lydiard's programme called for a 2k and 3 k tempo effort, but seeing that I've still not gone metric yet I changed this to a mile and 2 miles.The first mile [ 5.41] felt like a real effort , I ran the second effort inside the Kings gardens, [the scene of many a short distance club race in the past] maybe the thought of my 3 club victories in the 3k inspired me as I felt much better and in control during the 2 mile interval and cruised round at 5.49 pace . 1 mile 5.41, 2 miles 11.40I guess the important thing is I ran the 2 mile effort over 30 secs faster than last week, even if i feel i should be capable of 5.30 pace!= 1hour 14 mins

Tuesday, 7 October 2008

Todays run was wet,wet,wet! [ oh no sounds like that dreadful Scotish pop group of the 80's] But at least it was warm. Tess and me ran a fartlek session over the sandhills, surging over the steep dunes and pushing the pace on the flatter sections. One good thing about the rain is it makes the sand firmer to run on making for an ideal running terrain. i was feeling much stronger than last week and once again enjoyed my running.I even sprinted up the notorious BIG DIPPER without blowing a gasket ! Towards the end of the run we came back through the park, only to find the path flooded, "to hell with it" I thought and blasted straight through the ankle deep water! Well I couldn't have got much wetter any ways! = 1.16

Monday, 6 October 2008

I was highly impressed to read of the p.b.s set by THOMAS, GRELLAN AND MIKE, its a great feeling when every thing starts coming together and all the hard work and dedication pays off!As for me, well at last i started to feel better, the virus and the marathon took its toll upon my body and I had a dreadful feeling that i might never enjoy running again. Thankfully I started to feel stronger today, finding myself hitting Marathon Pace even into a strong head/cross wind and it felt comfortable , Ah yes, this was more like it.I headed for the rugby ground and did Arthur Lydiards leg speed session, 10x 150m at faster than mile pace. I then headed back with the wind reaching 10 then 11mph for a while!Deciding to extend my run, I took an excursion into the sand dunes. I guess you could say I enjoyed my run today, which at the end of the day is what its all about! = 1.07